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One of the loudest shots ever fired in the Battle of Ontario came from the left shoulder of Maple Leafs captain Dion Phaneuf on Oct. 8, 2011 at the Air Canada Centre.

A slight Senators rookie, playing in just his sixth NHL game, had accepted a Chris Phillips pass in the neutral zone and, upon crossing the blue line with his head lowered, was roughly introduced to the Ottawa-Toronto rivalry.

Phaneuf’s clean hit put him down like he’d been thrown into a train. His helmet came off and his stick slid into the corner. Taking their objections to the Leafs defenceman were Daniel Alfredsson, then Nick Foligno and finally Phillips. The rookie skated to the Senators bench and sat there dazed as the TV cameras remained focused on him.

Almost a quarter of a million viewers have since watched the replay on YouTube. Among them are Stephane Da Costa’s current Binghamton Senators teammates.

“Guys are laughing about it sometimes,” Da Costa, a former U.S. college hotshot from Paris, France now his in second season as a pro, said Tuesday from Binghamton. “I’m even laughing about it.

“It’s no big deal. It’s hockey.”

Just one night before running into Phaneuf, Da Costa was left with stitches over his right eye after having his face rubbed into the glass at Joe Louis Arena by Red Wings forward Daniel Cleary. That season, he wound up playing 22 games (3 goals, 2 assists, minus-9) for Ottawa and another 46 games (13 goals, 23 assists, minus-12) for the farm team.

This season, his personal goals are obvious.

“I just want to be more of an all-around player,” said the 5-foot-11, 173-pounder. “Physically I want to be a little better, too. I got a little better physically, I think. I can take impacts a little better.”

Da Costa owns offensive skills that have the Senators still convinced he can become an NHL regular. On Sunday, he tallied three goals and an assist as the B-Sens stretched their winning streak to eight with a 5-2 victory over Syracuse. It was his first game back after missing three weeks with an injury he’s not sure team policy will allow him to talk about to a reporter.

A little later in the afternoon, coach Luke Richardson told the Team 1200 Da Costa had “an illness” in the summer, then a back issue, then a bad finger and, most recently, a knee injury.

“It was just a really bad bruise,” said Da Costa.

Now, he’s healthy and trying to build on the success he enjoyed with new linemates Shane Prince and Cole Schneider. The unit should remain intact as the B-Sens tried to tie a franchise record with win No. 9 in a row Friday at home against Portland.

“We played simple, because that was my first game back and it was a hard game,” said Da Costa.

In the process, he made a statement to those fans overlooking his name when mulling the team’s future and wringing their hands over Jakob Silfverberg, Mika Zibanejad and Mark Stone. He dropped the reminder that there is still a place for him in the big picture.

“I’m trying to make an impact, trying to show I can play here,” said Da Costa. “I need to work hard, and I think I can make it there again.

“I just want to have a really good year. I’m trying to take it week to week and we’ll see what happens.”

ICE CHIPS: Senators first-rounder Stefan Noesen (Plymouth Whalers) is one of 27 players on Team USA’s preliminary roster for the world junior championship. The 23-player final roster will be named Dec. 23 ... Chris Driedger, a third-round Ottawa pick, has been named the WHL’s goaltender of the month after posting an 8-1 record with the Calgary Hitman.

One of the loudest shots ever fired in the Battle of Ontario came from the left shoulder of Maple Leafs captain Dion Phaneuf on Oct. 8, 2011 at the Air Canada Centre

A slight Senators rookie, playing in just his sixth NHL game, had accepted a Chris Phillips pass in the neutral zone and, upon crossing the blue line with his head lowered, was roughly introduced to the Ottawa-Toronto rivalry.

Phaneuf’s clean hit put him down like he’d been thrown into a train. His helmet came off and his stick slid into the corner. Taking their objections to the Leafs defenceman were Daniel Alfredsson, then Nick Foligno and finally Phillips. The rookie skated to the Senators bench and sat there dazed as the TV cameras remained focused on him.